Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don't Talk about It) (The University Center for Human Values Series Book 44)

Why our workplaces are authoritarian private governments—and why we can’t see itOne in four American workers says their workplace is a “dictatorship.” Yet that number almost certainly would be higher if we recognized employers for what they are—private governments with sweeping authoritarian power over our lives. Many employers minutely regulate workers’ speech, clothing, and manners on the job, and employers often extend their authority to the off-duty lives of workers, who can be fired for their political speech, recreational activities, diet, and almost anything else employers care to govern. In this compelling book, Elizabeth Anderson examines why, despite all this, we continue to talk as if free markets make workers free, and she proposes a better way to think about the workplace, opening up space for discovering how workers can enjoy real freedom. Why our workplaces are authoritarian private governments--and why we can't see it One in four American workers says their workplace is a "dictatorship." Yet that number probably would be even higher if we recognized most employers for what they are--private governments with sweeping authoritarian power over our lives, on duty and off. We normally think of government as something only the state does, yet many of us are governed far more--and far more obtrusively--by the private government of the workplace. In this provocative and compelling book, Elizabeth Anderson argues that the failure to see this stems from long-standing confusions. These confusions explain why, despite all evidence to the contrary, we still talk as if free markets make workers free--and why so many employers advocate less government even while they act as dictators in their businesses. In many workplaces, employers minutely regulate workers' speech, clothing, and manners, leaving them with little privacy and few other rights. And employers often extend their authority to workers' off-duty lives. Workers can be fired for their political speech, recreational activities, diet, and almost anything else employers care to govern. Yet we continue to talk as if early advocates of market society--from John Locke and Adam Smith to Thomas Paine and Abraham Lincoln--were right when they argued that it would free workers from oppressive authorities. That dream was shattered by the Industrial Revolution, but the myth endures. Private Government offers a better way to talk about the workplace, opening up space for discovering how workers can enjoy real freedom. Based on the prestigious Tanner Lectures delivered at Princeton University's Center for Human Values, Private Government is edited and introduced by Stephen Macedo and includes commentary by cultural critic David Bromwich, economist Tyler Cowen, historian Ann Hughes, and philosopher Niko Kolodny. Based On Two Lectures Given In 2014 By The Author During The Tanner Lectures On Human Values Delivered At Princeton University, Followed By Four Commentaries By Eminent Scholars And The Author's Response To The Commentators. Anderson Questions The Authoritarian Control Workers Have Been Forced To Give To Their Employers In Order To Remain Employed And Historically Why This Goes Against American Ideology Of Free Market Values. Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Introduction; Author's Preface; 1 When The Market Was Left; 2 Private Government; Comments; 3 Learning From The Levellers?; 4 Market Rationalization; 5 Help Wanted: Subordinates; 6 Work Isn't So Bad After All; Response; 7 Reply To Commentators; Notes; Contributors; Index Elizabeth Anderson ; Introduction By Stephen Macedo. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 145-181) And Index. "One in four American workers says their workplace is a "dictatorship." Yet that number almost certainly would be higher if we recognized employers for what they are--private governments with sweeping authoritarian power over our lives. Many employers minutely regulate workers' speech, clothing, and manners on the job, and employers often extend their authority to the off-duty lives of workers, who can be fired for their political speech, recreational activities, diet, and almost anything else employers care to govern. In this compelling book, Elizabeth Anderson examines why, despite all this, we continue to talk as if free markets make workers free, and she proposes a better way to think about the workplace, opening up space for discovering how workers can enjoy real freedom." -- Publisher's description Introduction -- Stephen Macedo Author's preface -- -- 1. When the market was "left" -- -- 2. Private government -- Comments. -- 3. Learning from the Levellers? -- Ann Hughes ; -- 4. Market rationalization -- David Bromwich ; -- 5. Help wanted: subordinates -- Niko Kolodny ; -- 6. Work isn't so bad after all -- Tyler Cowen Response. -- 7. Reply to commentators -- Elizabeth Anderson.